


we were amateurs at war

by brOken_records



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Little bit of angst, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), everyone is crushing on james
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22171180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brOken_records/pseuds/brOken_records
Summary: It's Remus' Birthday, but it's also the day after his latest transformation.Cue Marauder shenanigans, banter and of course chocolate.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter
Kudos: 4





	we were amateurs at war

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be a birthday fic for a friend but it has become a very, very belated present. 
> 
> At any rate, please enjoy. Comments welcome.

Remus woke with a groan. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring at the roof of the Shrieking Shack. He glanced around, eyeing the tunnel and somehow knew instinctively- like he always did-, that he had only a few hours until dawn. Which was about when Madame Pomfrey would come down from the castle.

Remus smiled, but that only caused the taunt skin to stretch. He gasped and felt around his upper lip. He sighed. Face wounds always took longer to heal. No one had ever been able to tell him why. Looks like he would be stuck in the Hospital Wing for the day.

A scratching on the wall caught his eye: ‘ _Happy Birthday Moony’._ No doubt the work of his three friends, who had insisted on joining him while he transformed. A fact which still made him feel guilty. And he suspected it would for the rest of his life. But it was incredibly hard to tell James or Sirius ‘no’. Plus, there was no way he could really stop them once they had figured out their Animagus forms.

Today was his Birthday, and so Remus decided to risk a little bit of wandless magic. It was dangerous, but he did not trust his wolf form enough to take his wand into the shrieking shack when he transformed. There was too high a chance that it would break, and he had no wish to pay for a new one. Not when they were so expensive.

He had been practicing. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the heating charm that he had painstakingly learnt for this very situation.

_Calesco…_

He thought of winter nights, curled up in a blanket on the couch, with a mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Reading a book alongside his mother, with his father working on a crossword at the table.

There was a small hissing sound, and Remus felt heat spread out from his chest towards his extremities. Sighing with relief, he wriggled his fingers and toes.

_Happy Birthday to me._

* * *

Sure enough, the moment Madame Pomfrey had seen him, she had snuck him up to the castle while everyone was having breakfast. She put some sort of poultice on his face, waved her wand- while explaining to him exactly what she was doing- and determined that was all she could do for now. He was made to stay in the Hospital Wing all morning and afternoon, and well into the evening.

This did not trouble him in the least. He managed to complete one or two assignments, and then contented himself with reading a book.

When he was finally let out, he thought about going straight to the kitchens and grabbing dinner, but he had a message on his Marauders coin that told him his friends had saved him some food. Grateful, he headed up to the common room. Inside there were pumpkin pies, pastries, custard creams and tarts… They had even managed to scrounge up some Honeydukes chocolate. He suspected that they may have been pilfered from the chocolate store since there had not been a Hogsmead weekend for quite some time. This was of course owing to the growing unrest that the dark wizard Voldemort was causing.

“About time you got here. What kept you?” said Sirius loudly.

“I managed to scratch my face last night. Always takes a little longer to heal.” He gestured at the now relatively healed wound. Werewolf scratches were hard to fully get rid of. Madame Promfrey tried her best but there would always be a scar. 

“Don’t worry about it! We’re hungry,” whined James.

With a grin, Remus sat and started to eat a pastry. His friends were watching him very attentively. Apparently, Sirius had had enough because he transformed into a dog and lay down with his head resting on Remus’s thigh.

After the first couple of times he’d done this, it no longer phased Remus at all. Remus scratched the big black dog under the chin.

“Oi! Shove off,” said Peter. Waving off Sirius. The dog glared but lifted his head off Remus’s leg so that Peter could put a wrapped present in Remus’s lap.

“You guys didn’t have to get me anything…”

Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Sure we did. Now would you just open it?” Said Peter impatiently.

Remus shook his head, then opened the present. It was a sleek silver sneakoscope.

“Thank you, Wormtail.” He said smiling at his friend.

Peter grinned back, shrugging.

“You’re welcome. I saw you eyeing it last time we were looking round Diagon Alley.”

Once Sirius had transformed back into a human, he gave Remus a wrapped rectangular-shaped present. Remus shook it experimentally and wondered if his friend had got him dungbombs or something similar. When Sirius’ face didn’t change, Remus figured it was safe to open.

Sirius had got him a muggle book on werewolves (“No doubt full of bullshit, Moony. But bound to be a laugh”), James a History of Quidditch (in what was presumably a doomed attempt to get him interested in the sport).

Remus finally turned to the present at the foot of his bed. This one was relatively small but wrapped in muggle wrapping paper. Knowing exactly who it was from, Remus picked it up while biting off the head of a chocolate frog.

He unwrapped it slowly, and inside found a small box accompanied by a card.

_Dear Remus,_

_I hope this finds you well. Your father and I are doing fine._

_Your father and I wondered what to get you for your birthday, but in the end, we decided to go with tradition. Enclosed is the watch that has been passed down to me on my mother’s side._

_In any case, the watch is now yours to do with as you please._

_Write back when you can dear! I know your Birthday must be busy what with those friends of yours. We really must have them over again soon._

_Love you!_

_P.S.: There is also some chocolate in the box._

Sure enough, when Remus opened the box, he pulled out a watch and a block of chocolate. The chocolate he placed on his bedside table for later. The watch he examined closely. He had seen his mother wear it many times, and he knew that she had taken good care of it.

The big hand went ticking across the midnight blue face. As much as he appreciated the watch and all it entailed, he could not help but think that he was likely to be the last person in his family to wear it.

Remus slipped it on his wrist, then turned to the other boys. They had been reasonably quiet while he had opened the present- well as reasonably as you can be with three 16 year-old boys- but now that he was finished, Remus could see that they had been scheming.

“We got ourselves quite a feast for tonight if I do say so myself,” said Sirius, balancing a custard cream on his hand.

Remus shook his head as he grabbed a pumpkin pasty: “When did you guys find the time to get all this stuff?”

James and Sirius glanced at each other in unison, then shrugged.

“We made time,” they said.

Peter scoffed.

“They really didn’t do that much. They asked the house elves for some food, and then when they had finished Prongs politely asked them to send it up to the Gryffindor common room. I say asked. More like he heaped them all with a whole lot of praise and they did whatever he asked.”

Sirius turned to Peter, looking aghast. “You’re no fun Wormtail. I was going to tell him that we daringly raided the kitchen and brought it back here.”

James snorted.

“You berk, that would never have worked. With your big mouth we would have been lucky to get to the Entrance Hall never mind the Common Room.”

Sirius drew himself up in offence while Remus tried not to laugh at Peter rolling his eyes.

“Why you-“

“Relax Padfoot. You know it’s true.”

The other boy appeared to deflate a bit, before going back to munching on some scrounged chocolate.

Remus leaned over and loudly whispered to Peter:

“Have they been like this all day?”

Peter grinned in response.

“Oh you have _no_ idea. They’ve been unbearable. They were supposed to stay out of trouble so that they could actually spend some time with you-“

“Oi, and we have. All that hard work paid off,” said James.

“Hard work- don’t make me laugh. They kept _annoying_ each other, but only in the common room since they couldn’t do it in class.”

Remus laughed.

“I was surprised myself. How long has it been since you two were in detention? Two weeks? Three?”

James and Sirius glanced at each other again.

“ _Four_ weeks, I believe. Must be a new record for us, eh Black?”

“That’ll change tomorrow,” said Sirius, and there was a smirk on his face that always reminded Remus of Sirius’ father, or worse yet his cousin Bellatrix. Not that he would ever say that out loud. It was an unworthy thought.

“Ah not tomorrow mate. Remember? I had to get permission to go home for Diwali.”

“Right, course. But when you get back,” and here Sirius pointed a finger at James: “We’ll start planning our next prank.

“But for now. Let us celebrate, to Remus being of age! You’ve finally lost the trace.”

So saying, Sirius turned and produced four bottles of firewhisky from seemingly nowhere.

Remus felt gobsmacked.

“Where did you get those?” he asked even as he took one. They were still cold, someone must have put a freeze charm on them.

“I asked a friendly seventh year to get them for me,” said James.

“Really? Who?”

James shifted a little bit.

“No. I am not going to tell a fucking prefect, even if it is his Birthday. Anyway, enough of that -cheers!” he said raising his glass in the typical muggle fashion, just like Remus had taught him.

The other’s followed suit.

It burned on the way down as it always did, and Remus wondered, yet again what was exactly so great about a drink that made him feel as if smoke was coming out of his ears.

But the others did not seem to share his reservations. Sirius seemed to relax in his seat. James closed his eyes, and even Peter seemed to enjoy the taste.

In fact, Remus was sure that he hadn’t seen Peter look that happy in a very long while. He had been upset ever since the Perryweather’s had been found dead…

“Who’s up for a game of truth or dare?” James said.

Peter looked up.

“I’m game.”

Sirius rolled his eyes in response.

There was a lingering feeling of dread in his stomach, but Remus quickly seized on the distraction. Because that is what this was. One big distraction. Partly from the fact that tomorrow, James would be escorted from the school to the train station by an Auror. He would have to undergo several security checks on the way out and also on the way in.

That was not all. His house had been warded by nearly every spell imaginable. The Potter’s were taking no chances when it came to their safety.

The Daily Prophet was full of warnings, and reassurances that Hogwarts and other places were safe from Dark wizards. The stressed faces of their professor’s told a different story.

“Right, Moony it’s your Birthday so you’re up first… truth or dare?”

“Uhhhh Truth?”

James grinned like the cat in that old Disney film that he used to watch when he had been little.

“Do you have a crush on Frank Longbottom?”

Remus worked to keep the flush off his face. Especially since it was James that was asking. And with that bloody _smile_ …

“No.”

“Ok what about Denise Todd?”

“I think you only get one question, Prongs.”

“Right you are, Remus” he said winking.

_Bugger him,_ Remus thought.

“Padfoot, truth or dare?”

Even many years later, Remus isn’t quite sure how that night got so out of hand.

He supposed that part of it could be blamed on the alcohol, but only a small part. The game had started off reasonable, but then someone had the bright idea of trying to get into the Forbidden Forest.

“After all, we’ll be going in with a werewolf, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Sometimes Sirius’ humour left a lot to be desired. James shook his head at him and pinched the bridge of his nose.

For his part, Remus appreciated Sirius’ humour when it came to his condition. There had been many others who had sworn to never interact with him once they knew. However, he could never find it in himself to blame them. He was a monster after all.

The four of them huddled under the Invisibility cloak, which was becoming harder and harder the taller they all got. James was the tallest, with Remus and Sirius being almost the same height, and Peter was the shortest at only 5 foot. Their feet stuck out at the bottom, but they reasoned that it would be dark enough that nobody would notice. Save for Mr Filch’s cat.

“Shame we lost the map,” complained James as he often did.

Remus rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with Peter.

“That’s because you two weren’t careful enough with it! Weren’t you showing off to a couple of fifth years when Mr Filch came across you?” Peter asked.

James threw an arm over Peter’s shoulders, which was made somewhat difficult as they were all under the cloak.

“Wormtail we weren’t showing off. We just wanted to put those ruddy fifth years in their place. They kept talking about the new Charm they had mastered. Which one was it Padfoot?”

“Protego or some shit I think,” he grunted. “It’s not as if they had managed to do a corporeal Patronus. Don’t know what the big deal was.”

“Uh huh,” said Wormtail, even as he tried to get out from under James’ outstretched arm.

Remus glanced around and noticed they were nearing the Forbidden Forest. The alcohol had made everything a little fuzzy. He had probably had a few too many all things considered. But it kept him pleasantly buzzed. If not for the alcohol, he would be panicking right about now.

Soon they could see Hagrid’s hut in the distance, but they made sure not to get too close. They had learnt the hard way that Hagrid’s dog was very good at picking up their scents.

They carefully picked their way across the field and into the forest. Distantly they could hear the owls hooting and Remus could have sworn he recognised a bowtruckle shape in a nearby tree. It wasn’t long before the foliage was so thick they couldn’t see the Castle. James and Sirius looked at each other, and then they both transformed.

Sirius in his dog form bit James, and the two of them were off. Chasing each other through the trees.

Peter sighed as he carefully pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and wrapped it round his arm.

“I don’t really feel like turning into a mouse right now,” he said, pawing at the ground. “Grounds a bit wet.”

Remus nodded his head sagely and found it best not to mention that they could not keep up with a stag and a massive dog anyway.

The two of them followed after their friends, using the sounds of them crushing through the undergrowth as a guide.

Remus took out his wand and whispered: _“Lumos.”_

It didn’t do much to light up the forest around them, but it made him feel better. He heard Peter doing the same beside him.

“Can I ask… how much do you remember? I mean while you’re in wolf form?”

Remus paused, and wondered why Peter was asking this of him now. It was a question that Remus didn’t get very often.

He resumed walking but glanced over at Peter.

“I remember bits and pieces. Sometimes it, well I guess it feels like a dream. Most times I only remember running, the ground beneath my feet. I remember flashes of the three of you. Pain, occasionally if I’ve scratched myself or something.” He shifted.

“Why do you ask?”

Peter shrugged.

“I don’t know, just curious really.”

Remus eyed Wormtail closely but decided to let it go. The other boy really only seemed interested, not scared.

There was silence for a bit, then a sound ripped through the night air and the two of them froze. It was the sound of a siren going off.

They glanced at each other, then went racing off in the direction that they had last heard their friends. The screech was deafening, and Remus wished he could cover his ears but he could not do so when he was running.

Eventually they came to a clearing, where James and Sirius stood, except James was still in his stag form. Dread started licking up his spine and he realised that the siren was the result of a cauterwauling charm. _Shit…_

He was about to open his mouth and ask if James was okay, when a crisp voice sounded from behind Remus and Peter.

“There had _better_ be a good explanation for this.”

Remus turned to see Professor McGonagall clad in a tartan dressing gown and a very angry expression on her face.

There was the sound of a crash through the undergrowth, and Remus knew without looking that James had made a dash for it. His heart was in his throat. There was no way to answer that without all of them being put in detention for a long while.

“Professor,” said Sirius. And Remus internally winced at his light-hearted tone. “I didn’t know it was possible to apparate within the grounds.”

Her expression grew tighter and Remus found himself wondering exactly how high her eyebrow could go.

“It’s not, Mr Black. Where is Mr Potter?”

“Not here, Professor. James should be asleep at the minute. He has an early train ride tomorrow remember.”

Her lips pursed.

“We’ll see about that. Come with me.”

There was no arguing with her and the three boys followed after her. Meanwhile, a stag was crashing through the undergrowth, trying to get back to the Gryffindor Common Room before his Head of House got there.

* * *

Remus wasn’t sure how he had managed it. But when they finally arrived at the Boy’s Dormitory, James appeared at McGonagall’s knock, in a rumpled sleep shirt and pants with a sleepy look in his eyes.

“Profess’r? What can I do for you this fine uhhh...” he squinted at his watch. “Morning?”

McGonagall glared at him.

“Oi, did you guys go out without me? That’s not very good of you… Did you want me to handle this Professor? I am Head Boy after all…”

She straightened herself up, eyes never leaving his.

“No that’s quite alright Mr Potter. In fact, judging by the mud you’ve just tracked through the common room- “and here she drew her wand and waved away the mess- “which you’re still wearing by the way- and the twigs in your hair… I rather think you’d better come with me.”


End file.
